PLENTY Spring 2020 Plenty Spring 2020-WEB | Page 30

from the ground up
Photo by wib middleton
H
ow many of us have a
lasting memory of a great
grandparent? Or a deeply
rooted family story five
generations old that
profoundly shaped a life? It’s a rare
circumstance. In Gene Kingsbury’s
case, owner of the beloved Kingsbury
Orchard in Dickerson, Maryland, it
was his close relationship with his
farmer great grandfather, Phil Horine,
who imparted a very special piece of
country wisdom to him. Peaches.
Decades later Kingsbury’s Or-
chard is distinctively known for its
sweet succulent peaches—and the
mouth-watering Kingsbury Pride
peach that drips from chins every
August. The orchard is a thing of
beauty and its 7,000 trees bring
forth not only peaches but also
Asian pears, nectarines, apricots,
plums and ever-changing varieties of
apples. Each tree and every branch
receives careful year-round attention
of hands-on farmer Gene Kingsbury
and his loyal crew. Sue Ketron, Gene’s
30
plenty I Spring sowing 2020
Gene
Kingsbury:
A Fifth
Generation
Farmer
by W ib middlet o n
sister, runs the popular farm market
from mid-June through late October.
It accounts for 75 percent of their
sales. The rest of the fruit is sold to
Giant Food, which has been very sup-
portive of local growers, and Whole
Foods, which Gene has worked with
for years.
The story of the Kingsbury
Orchard began five generations
ago in 1907 with Gene’s great great
grandparents, Edwin and Minerva
Horine, who bought a beautiful parcel
of land to start a farm. Later, it was
their oldest son Phil who felt that to
survive the Great Depression called
for growing something special. That’s
when he introduced peach farming
to the surrounding area in 1932. As a
legacy farmer Gene Kingsbury traces
his love for peaches and passion for
his orchards to his great grandfather.
“Beyond my parents the most impor-
tant person in my family was my great
grandfather. He was the peach guru.
He loved peaches and lived in an old
log house right here on the farm,”
recounts Gene. You could truly say
then that for Gene, the peach didn’t
fall far from the tree. “Looking back
he really did spend a lot of time with
me and I guess he could sense that
I was his best chance for continuing
the legacy.” And he was right.
There is a special genius and
artistry to fruit farming. A given is
a recognition of the vicissitudes of
weather and climate shifts coupled